A Plague Tale: Innocence
A Plague Tale: Innocence is an action-adventure horror stealth game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Home Interactive on May 14, 2019 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The plot revolves around a young girl called Amicia and her little brother Hugo, who has been suffering from a mysterious illness since birth. The pair have been forced to flee their home and must now survive in a horrific world infested with hordes of plague-ridden rats as well as Inquisition soldiers. Gameplay In the game, the player assumes control of Amicia from a third-person perspective. For the majority of the game, players need to utilize stealth to avoid hostile encounters. Amicia is equipped with a sling which can throw rocks to break drawbridge chains or stun guards long enough for the rats to ambush them, or even kill them with a headshot. The game is a series of survival puzzles, mostly consisting of methods to scare away or distract the hordes of hungry rats in order to gain access to new areas, or direct them towards enemies. The main method of warding rats off is fire, as rats will seldom enter within a radius of burning torches and braziers. Amicia can also craft special ammunition and supplies, which include fire-starting sulfur stones that ignite braziers, stink bombs that attract rats, or fire suppressants to extinguish torches carried by enemies. Amicia's younger brother Hugo can be directed towards specific tasks when Amicia is busy. Later in the game, the player can assume control of Hugo, who cannot craft items but is able to control rats and sneak through small spaces. All these abilities are combined when the siblings unite in the late game. Plot In the year 1348 in southern France, Amicia de Rune is a young girl of noble descent who lives with her family in rural Aquitaine, which has been invaded by the English army. While out practising using her sling while hunting with her father Robert and her pet dog Lion, Amicia encounters signs of a blight, however Lion chases the scent and is gruesomely consumed by an unseen entity. Amicia and Robert hurry back to the de Rune estate, where Amicia goes to see her mother Beatrice, an alchemist who has been trying to cure Amicia's little brother Hugo, who has been suffering from a mysterious illness since birth and has been isolated from his sister. Suddenly, the estate is invaded by Inquisition soldiers led by Lord Nicholas, who demand that Hugo be handed over to them, and murder Robert after he refuses to tell them where Hugo is. Amicia, Hugo and Beatrice flee to the front gate, however Beatrice stays behind and tells the pair to go to the house of an alchemist and friend called Laurentius, who could give the pair refuge and possibly cure Hugo before a sword is stabbed through the gate and Beatrice is apparently killed. Amicia and Hugo flee the estate and end up at a plague-ridden village, where the villagers, driven to a witch hunt, chase the pair through the village until they take refuge in an abandoned church overridden with hordes of rats who devour anything they come across. After traversing through the vermin-ridden catacombs of the church, the pair manage to avoid the Inquisition and reach Laurentius' farm. However, Laurentius is suffering from the plague and is being cared for by his apprentice Lucas. Laurentius implores Amicia to find a cure for Hugo's ailment before his houses catches on fire, forcing Amicia, Hugo and Lucas to leave the farm in search of the hidden Château d'Ombrage, where they could claim refuge and be safe from the Inquisition. As the trio evade hordes of rats and Inquisition soldiers across a death-ridden battlefield, Lucas informs Amicia that Hugo's blood carries a supernatural evil called the Prima Macula, which has lied dormant within certain noble bloodlines since the Justinian Plague. Beatrice and Laurentius had been trying to find a cure, while the Grand Inquisitor Vitalis Benevent covets its power. After saving two sibling raiders from the Inquisition, Amicia and Hugo are captured but are rescued from the Inquisition base by the raiders, Arthur and Melie, however Arthur is captured before the rest of the group reaches the Château d'Ombrage. After reaching the Château d'Ombrage, Lucas informs Amicia that he needs a book called Sanguinis Itinira to complete the elixir needed to possibly cure the Macula. Amicia and Melie travel to a nearby town to search for the book, which is located in a university in the town, however Melie leaves Amicia to find it in order to rescue Arthur. Amicia sneaks past even more rats and Inquisition soldiers and recovers the book, while saving and meeting a young blacksmith called Rodric who helps Amicia escape the university, now on fire and swarmed with Inquisition soldiers. Amicia and Rodric return to the Château d'Ombrage, where Lucas takes the Sanguinis Itinera while they are reunited with Arthur and Melie. Arthur informs Amicia that he witnessed her mother Beatrice in the Inquisition's custody. Amicia insists they don't tell Hugo, however he overhears their conversation and his illness drastically worsens. Lucas tells Amicia that his alchemy equipment isn't good enough to complete the elixir, so the pair decide to return to the de Rune estate, now infested with hordes of rats, in order to use Beatrice's more advanced alchemy equipment while Arthur, Melie and Rodric stay behind and look after Hugo. Lucas manages to complete the elixir and administer it to Hugo when they return, relieving his symptoms. However, Hugo runs away and turns himself over to the Inquisition in order to find Beatrice, leaving Amicia guilt-ridden. Vitalis injects himself with Hugo's blood so that he too can possess the power of the Macula, however Lucas' elixir has delayed its development. Hugo manages to escape custody and sneaks through the large cathedral and finds Beatrice, who reveals that the Macula gives Hugo the ability to control the rats. Unfortunately, Hugo and Beatrice are recaptured, and Vitalis threatens Beatrice's life in an attempt for Hugo's powers to fully awaken. A month later, now in 1349, the Château d'Ombrage is suddenly attacked by a gigantic swarm of rats controlled by Lord Nicholas and Hugo, who is embittered against Amicia. Lord Nicholas kills Arthur and commands Hugo to kill Amicia, however the siblings reconcile and turn against Lord Nicholas, who gets overpowered by the hordes of rats and falls through the floor and is presumably devoured by the rats. The children decide that with the power to control the rats, they can take the fight to the Inquisition, defeat Vitalis and rescue Beatrice. The children head to the cathedral where the Inquisition have set up their headquarters, however Rodric sacrifices himself in order to protect the others from Inquisition soldiers and archers. Amicia, Hugo, Lucas and Melie reach the cathedral where Vitalis is waiting, who has bred thousands of hairless rats who answer only to him. Vitalis and Hugo use the powers of the Macula to send swarms of rats at each other until Amicia is able to kill Vitalis. Three days later, both the rats and the plague have disappeared and life begins to return to normal in the village, however there is still a lingering fear towards Hugo in the village. Melie parts ways with the group, and Amicia, Hugo, Lucas and an ailing Beatrice head towards the harbour to seek a new life. Category:Video games Category:Action games Category:Adventure games Category:Stealth games Category:Horror games Category:Asobo Studio games Category:Focus Home Interactive games Category:Windows games Category:Xbox One games Category:PlayStation 4 games Category:Xbox games Category:PlayStation games Category:PC games